How to Test a Monitor Before (and Right After) Buying

A monitor is a multi-year purchase. Five minutes of testing protects it.

Before you pay (in store)

If there's a display unit, load this site on your phone, mirror it, or ask staff to open a browser:

• Solid colors via the Color Test for obvious pixel defects.
• A Black Screen for backlight bleed.

At home, day one

1. Pixels — Dead Pixel Test.
2. Bleed & glow — Backlight Bleed Test in a dark room.
3. Uniformity — Brightness Uniformity Test.
4. Refresh rate — Refresh Rate Test; make sure Windows/macOS is actually set to the panel's max Hz.
5. Motion — Ghosting Test to judge response time and overdrive.

Red flags worth a return

• More than one or two stuck/dead pixels.
• Backlight bleed bad enough to notice during normal dark-scene viewing.
• Color tint that shifts noticeably corner to corner.
• A measured refresh rate far below the advertised number.

Don't forget the cable

A 144Hz or 4K panel needs a cable and port that can carry the bandwidth (DisplayPort or a high-speed HDMI). If your refresh-rate test reads low, swap the cable before blaming the panel.